How many valleys in wales

These are the valleys of the Rhondda. Fanning out above the Welsh capital of Cardiff, these valleys are the coalfields of South Wales, narrow glens snaking their way south to north, from the Bristol Channel coast toward the Brecon Beacons. Every few miles up and down the hills lie the skeletal remains of a pit head, rusting silently, majestic. Though in popular parlance the name Rhondda has become synonymous with the mining district, the Rhondda itself is a dual-pronged valley rising north of Pontypridd.

For more than a century, high quality, smokeless coal was extracted from the earth here. Collieries dotted the valleys, and tens of thousands of men made their livelihood cutting coal from the rich seams that ran from several feet to more than a quarter-mile under the surface. This huge economic engine built the industrial port cities of Cardiff and Newport and fueled the British navy from the later years of Victoria almost until the Second World War.

Today the coal mines are silent, unprofitable in the modern economy. Though the pits have closed, however, the people remain in populous, serpentine towns lining the vales. Life in the valleys has always been hard.

During the winter, a collier never saw the sun except on Sunday, going into the pits before daybreak and emerging again after dark. Boys followed their fathers down in their early teens. With little cash and no modern conveniences, women made home and hearth for large families in two-room-up, two-room-down stone row-houses without garden or lawn.

The mines yielded a death, on average, every six hours, and a serious injury every 12 minutes. Read more: Does new evidence reveal Jack the Ripper's identity? In Senghynydd at the head of the Aber Valley, local historian Basil Philips recounts the story of the deep pit explosion of , when men and boys in this village of less than 5, met their deaths in the greatest colliery disaster in British history.

His own father was in the mine that day. Philips tells how the mining communities were built. As a pit was sunk, it drew men off the land, swapping the bleak agrarian life in the hardscrabble Welsh hills for the steady cash wages of the mine.

As hard as life might have been, it was an enviable step up from subsistence farming. The dissenting chapels, Baptist, Methodist, Congregational, and Presbyterian, certainly punctuated every neighborhood. Today, most of the chapels are as silent as the mines. Many sit derelict or converted to other uses in the secularism of lateth-century Britain. Fewer than three percent of the Welsh people now attend. The justly acclaimed male voice choirs of Wales remain. Every valley and village has its own choir.

Their music continues to be one of the great defining cultural institutions of Wales; opera choruses and Welsh hymns, folk songs, and show music. As to rugby, it is the national sport. The mine owners were in a formidably strong position as thousands flocked to the Valleys in search of work and some sort of sustainable life. By the turn of the twentieth century, the Valleys became packed with pits, chapels and immigrant workers from Ireland, Scotland, Italy and all over Wales.

More than half of the original pits closed in the harsh economic climate of the s, as coal seams became exhausted and the political climate changed. In the s, further closures threatened to bring the number of men employed in the South Wales coalfields down to four figures, and the miners went on strike from — The last of the deep pits closed in Planning to travel here? Go tailor-made! The Valleys Tailor-made Travel. Book your individual trip , stress-free with local travel experts. Consider changing the search query.

List is empty. Continue reading to find out more about Blaenafon Fourteen miles north of Newport, the valley of the Llwyd opens out at the airy iron and coal town of BLAENAFON sometimes Blaenavon , whose population has shrunk to five thousand, a third of its size in the nineteenth century. Explore the royal bounty of the 'Queen of the Hills' Come bask in the presence of royalty as you enjoy the hidden beauty of Aberdare, the 'Queen of the Hills.

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From couch to Blaenau Gwent Interested in getting fitter while enjoying beauty spots? Take inspiration from Janine Price…. Topics: Wellness activities. Topics: Groups. World Heritage Blaenavon: A local's guide Read our local's guide to discovering the fascinating industrial history of Blaenavon - a living, breathing reminder of when Welsh coal powered industry.